Ever try trencing with roto-tiller?

[machinedoc]

I recently purchased a First Choice 48 inch roto tiller from Ken at Sweet Farm Equipment, Canmer, Ky. He said that last year during a landscaping project. he removed all the tines off his 57 inch tller except 1 outside row and used that 1 row for making a trench for a wire going to a yard light and also a Gazebo Ceiling fan and a pump for a fish pond. I found it hard to believe until he showed me. Amazing !! He also mentioned his wife had another honeydew project, the required a 6 inch wide trench some 60 ft long with curves, no less, for installing some edging brick 2-3 inches into the groung. Roto Tiller took care of that also. I can honestly say, this dealer has gave me more insight to inovative ideas in 15 minutes than most dealers have in 20 years. As Ken said, the down side is removing the tines and reinstalling them when finished. I used a air ratchet and it took me 15 minutes to remove and 15 minutes to reinstall. Best to save up 2 or 3 projects and wipe them out in 1 afternoon. This little trick saved me big bucks and a trip to the rental store. Is this dealer an exception, or are there other dealers out there that care this much?

 

[Buck]

machinedoc,

Is this dealer an exception, or are there other dealers out there that care this much?

He sounds good to me and I love his website. I think another threadworthy element of your post, however, is the idea trenching with a tiller concept. I may borrow that concept to bury a pipe from my well to my pond to keep it full during the late summer months.

Have you found any other innovative solutions like that?

Thanks,

Buck

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Just be sure that if you are trenching to bury wire, conduit or water pipe, that it is deep enough. Electrical generally needs to be at least 18" deep, for example, to meet code.

 

[machinedoc]

I asked Ken about that and he said his county and most Ky counties did not have that to comply to those codes on the farm (up north, especially metropolitian areas may be different)--he mentioned the phone company brought his DSL fiberoptic cable thru his yard to the outside phone interface at a depth of 4 inches--You may want to check with your local regs. I checked here in Tn and I was fine.

 

[machinedoc]

Buck, Ken Sweet explanied to me that he sold a lot of what is call locally "Tobbacco Transplanters" they have been used in the Burley tobacco belt for years to put out the tobacco crop in May of each year. Ken mentioned that he has sold several of these Used units to gardners and truck patch operators and wildlife habitat enthusiasits for planting-watering-ferterlizing all in 1 pass with this 3 point implement--plants virtually anything--Used Prices were from $395 to $995 for 1 row units and $800 to 2500 for 2 row units. In the hour we talked he covered dozens of my questions, the other discussion that I could apply to my hobby was the using of a 1 bottom tractor garden turning plow to plow out my potatoes in the fall of the year. Just straddle the row and drive straight. Using a subsoiler to lay a plastic waterline was another tip that I will eventually use. If Ken is not terribly busy, he is always glad to answer unorthodox questions from some of us hobby farmers. Call him at 270-528-3323 or email sweet@scrtc.com I think they are open mon-fri-8-5 and till 12 cst on Sat

 

[patrickg]

Machinedoc, My Kubota dealer, Chaprell Dodge Kubota in Ada, Oklahoma is the best auto/truck/tractor dealer I have ever done buisness with. Much of the credit goes to Kevin Luper who is quite experiened with tractors and implements and gives me good advice and the lead Kubota maint guy, Jamie. I must say, you have found another gem with good advice yourself.

I have a problem with using a rototiller for a trencher for water lines though. What about freezing? Our frost line depth requirement for waterlines is 18 inch min. I have a subsoiler and a middle buster (same implement, different tooth/blade/?) and see how I could potentially trench for low voltage direct buriel wire but having 120vac that close to the surface, unless you are really realy sure it won't accidently get hit, wouild be iffy. Our pone lines were cut 4-5 times in one year. They were burried fresh from scratch twice. All this with locate service pointing the way for the rural water guys. Lines were so close to the surface that when driven over it wet weather they broke (that and 4 other accidents, only one of which was me).

A year or so back I think there was a post/thread about laying wire and roll type water pipe with a 3PH mounted device. I was thinking I might try to make something like that.

Patrick

 

[machinedoc]

Our experience with shallow water lines is for filling decrotave ponds, fountains etc. and for drain lines only--nothing under pressure or no water left in lines during cold weather. If water line has negative angle to water source, we blow out or fill with RV antifreeze for the winter.

 

[cisco]

I favor 9-12 inches of depth, in South Carolina, and much more in soil prone to hard freezes. I don't know what you Northern folks can do, except rent a trencher for the deep stuff, but I've done fine in SC with a subsoiler to clear the roots and stones along the proposed water/power line, and then a middle buster or potato plow to achieve a decently wide trench. There are threads, a few of mine but much better ones by others, on laying plastic, rolled pipe and power line off a "T-bar" strut welded above a subsoiler, with the rolls of line uncoiling off each lateral limb of the "T" through a pipe welded or bracketed along the back surface of the subsoiler blade. I've a farmer friend who laid a thousand yards of pipe/wire via such a set-up, in an afternoon - that's when I learned. I had already laid about a thousand feet of my own pipe/wire, with a subsoiler and a middle buster (not nearly as quickly as the farmer - but - a real straight trench, of uniform depth, and of schedule 40 PVC and 10 gauge wire, not the flimsy rolled pipe and 12-14 gauge wire). At any rate, for a small shed, light pole or distant water tap, my farmer friend has the ticket.

 

[Buck]

Thats the way I feel about it too. My application is a summer water source for my pond originating from my currently unused well. Don't plan on using it in the winter. Don't plan or need a tank to equalize the output pressure.


Buck